Motocross Goals and Training Objectives

In the last issue of Holeshot we went over the concept of the limiter which identifies your weak areas within the entire group of skills that compromises overall motocross ability. You will now learn to set season goals and to establish training objectives based on these limiters so you can train with direction and purpose. This may not sound as exciting as practicing the triples at the track but this is a super important part of your training! It also may sound complicated but read on and hopefully you will find a logic here that makes sense.

The first step is to grab a calendar and figure out what races you want to race this coming season. All races are of course important but you must choose two to three races per season that will be called “A” priority races. These races are the most important of the season and hopefully they will be spaced apart as evenly as possible. Your training program will be planned around these “A” priority races and will include a three week to one month long taper (a period of progressively reduced training load) so that you are at a physical, mental, and emotional peak when it is time to roll up to the gate. It is a difficult task to determine which races should be given such a high priority but it has to be done and you have to commit to run your program around these events.
.

Next up are the “B” priority races. These are usually regional events or events that hold a personal reason for being important to you. These races will only have a one week taper leading up to them as opposed to the three week to one month taper that precedes an “A” priority race. There still should be relatively few “B” priority races on your schedule. One or two “B” priority events for each “A” event is typical. Remember that when you are racing, you are NOT training!! You increase your fitness and speed while you are consistently training and recovering, NOT while you are disrupting this by racing so keep this in mind when planning “B” priority events.

Last up are C priority events. These are usually local races and are strictly treated as training events. They should mentally and emotionally hold no result oriented importance; they should just be an opportunity for some practice, learning and fun.

The next step is to determine season goals based on your “A” priority races. This is arguably the most important procedure you will do in planning your season. It is critical at this point to understand the difference between a dream and a goal; a dream takes longer than a season to accomplish while a goal can be reached within a season. An example may be that a racer is winning their respective class locally so a dream would be to become a factory rider but a goal would be to win a local winter race series. Goals need to be challenging but they also need to be reasonable. You must honestly believe that with hard work and dedication that you can achieve your goal. If you set goals that are too high then deep down inside you will know that you cannot reach this goal and your commitment level to training will fade. Your goals need to be a) measurable, meaning it is number oriented, b) under your control (“I want to win this race, NOT I want to win this race if Joe crashes”) and c) they must stretch you. An example of a good season goal would be “a top 5 finish in my class at the regional Loretta’a qualifier on x date.” Another would be “a top 10 finish in my local winter series from x date to x date.” Each “A” priority race should have a season goal to go along with it so when you are done with this critical step you should have two to three season goals.

The final step is to create training objectives based on the season goals you have just created and the performance limiters you discovered from the last issue of Holeshot. Write down your first season goal and look at your list of limiters. Will any of your limiters prevent or impede you from reaching this season goal? The answer is probably yes so you will need to improve these limiters through specific training. List these limiters underneath the first season goal and repeat this procedure for all your season goals. Now you will use each of these limiters to create a training objective, specify a way to measure improvement in each limiter, and put a time limit on doing so. Here are some examples:

Goal:
A top 5 finish in my class at the regional Loretta’s qualifier on x date.

Training objectives:

Improve aerobic conditioning: complete a 25 mile road bicycle ride in 1 hour and 20 minutes by June 30th, 2006.
Improve cornering technique: complete one lap on my corner track in 35 seconds by July 15th, 2006.
Lose weight: track diet and change to 60% carbohydrate, 25 % protein, 15% fat intake ratios by August 15th, 2006.
When you have completed this procedure for each goal, you will probably have between one and three training objectives for each season goal. This means you will have between 3 to 9 training objectives for the entire season. These training objectives can be adjusted through the season as you improve upon your limiters and even be eliminated through your directed and purposeful training!

Sitting down with the race calendar, going through the goal setting procedure and creating your training objectives may seem to be a far cry from blasting through the whoops at practice but it is no less important in the quest to improve your racing performance. This is a very important process to go through each year to ensure that your training has direction and your efforts and dedication are always moving you steadily towards your racing goals.

– Originally Published in Holeshot Magazine